Where Do We Grow from Here?

Most couples wait too long before seeking help an average of six years after problems begin, according to research. In this episode, Bucky Bateman draws on his clinical experience as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist to break down the key signs that it's time to stop waiting and start getting support.

This isn't about pathologizing normal relationship struggles. It's about recognizing the patterns that don't resolve on their own, and understanding why getting help sooner rather than later dramatically improves outcomes. Bucky also addresses the common reasons couples hesitate (stigma, cost, fear of what they might uncover) and offers a realistic, compassionate perspective on what therapy actually looks like.

If you've been wondering whether couples therapy is right for you, this episode will help you decide.

Topics: when to go to couples therapy, signs you need marriage counseling, couples therapy podcast, marriage therapist advice, should I go to therapy, couples counseling San Diego, marriage help, relationship red flags

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Adult ADHD is one of the most underdiagnosed and misunderstood conditions in women and it affects far more than just focus. In this episode, Bucky sits down with Renee Herman, who shares what it's been like to navigate life as a mother, student, and professional while managing adult ADD.

Renee talks candidly about the challenges ADHD creates in relationships, the frustration of feeling like you're always playing catch-up, and the strategies that have actually helped her find more balance and self-compassion. This is a conversation about neurodivergence, identity, and learning to work with your brain instead of against it.

If you or someone you love is navigating adult ADHD, this episode offers both solidarity and practical insight.

Topics: adult ADHD, adult ADD in women, ADHD and relationships, ADHD motherhood, managing ADHD, neurodivergent relationships, ADHD podcast, women and ADHD

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Few experiences reshape a life the way sudden loss does, especially when you're left to raise children alone. In this deeply moving episode, Bucky talks with his wife Keri, who was widowed young with three small children and had to find a way to keep going when everything had fallen apart.

Keri shares the raw reality of grief, the unexpected moments of grace, the hard work of rebuilding, and how faith played a complicated but ultimately sustaining role in her journey. This is a conversation about what it actually looks like to start over, not the cleaned-up version, but the real one.

If you've experienced loss, or love someone who has, this episode will meet you where you are.

Topics: young widow, widowed with children, grief and faith, starting over after loss, grief recovery podcast, single parent after death, faith through grief, loss and resilience

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What does it look like to completely reinvent your life in pursuit of something you believe you were made for? Gordon Wong has done it more than once moving from Oahu to the mainland, building a career as a chef, planting a church, and now serving as Graduate Chaplain at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.

In this conversation, Gordon and Bucky explore what it means to follow a calling that doesn't follow a straight line the faith it requires, the doubt that shows up anyway, and what it looks like to keep saying yes to the next right thing even when the path isn't clear.

If you've ever wondered whether you're in the right place or doing the right thing with your life, Gordon's story will challenge and encourage you.

Topics: faith and calling, Christian men podcast, life reinvention, church planter story, purpose and vocation, following your calling, faith journey, Christian podcast San Diego

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Anxiety can feel isolating, like something is wrong with you that isn't wrong with everyone else. In this episode, Bucky sits down with mcKensey McGill, who shares her honest, unfiltered journey with anxiety: what it felt like, what made it worse, and what she finally learned about herself along the way.

This conversation is for anyone who has felt hijacked by worry, fear, or that constant low-grade sense that something bad is coming. mcKensey's story is relatable, grounding, and full of hard-won insight the kind you only get from actually living through it.

Whether you're struggling with anxiety yourself or trying to understand someone you love, this episode will help you feel less alone and more equipped.

Topics: anxiety podcast, understanding anxiety, anxiety in women, managing anxiety naturally, anxiety and faith, mental health stories, overcoming anxiety, anxiety in relationships

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It's one thing to recommend mental health tools to clients. It's another to have used them yourself in the middle of a genuinely hard season. In this episode, Bucky Bateman gets personal sharing the specific coping strategies, mindset shifts, and practices that helped him navigate his own difficult chapter.

This isn't a clinical lecture. It's a therapist being honest about what actually worked when life got hard and what he still uses today. From emotional regulation techniques to faith-based practices to the simple habits that kept him grounded, Bucky walks through the tools that made a real difference.

If you're in a hard season right now and looking for something that actually helps, this episode is for you.

Topics: mental health tools, coping strategies for stress, emotional regulation, therapist personal story, faith and mental health, personal growth podcast, overcoming hard seasons, Christian wellness

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What does it take to move through life's hardest seasons and come out stronger? In this first episode, Bucky Bateman; Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and founder of Renewal Counseling Centers in San Diego shares the personal story behind Where Do We Grow from Here? and why he felt compelled to start this conversation.

Bucky opens up about his own journey through challenge and change, the moments that shaped him as a therapist and a man, and what he hopes this podcast will give to the people who find it. Whether you're navigating a struggling marriage, a personal crisis, or just a quiet sense that something needs to shift, this episode sets the tone for everything that follows.

If you've ever asked yourself "what now?" after life didn't go as planned, you're in the right place.

Topics: marriage therapist podcast, mental health podcast, Christian counseling, personal resilience, faith and growth, couples therapy San Diego, LMFT, emotional health podcast

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